Barnum magic show makes a zoo debut
Eight-year-old Channa Eisenbach, of Litchfield, talks with Joe Barney, of Bridgeport, dressed as P.T. Barnum, during P.T. Barnum's 202th birthday party at Beardsley Zoo Thursday, July 5, 2012.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll / Connecticut Post
FROM: ctpost.com
Ayla Zuraw-Friedland
Friday, July 6, 2012
BRIDGEPORT -- For youngsters in a Middletown summer camp, a visit to the Beardsley Zoo Thursday had the usual attractions -- peacocks and llamas, tigers and a lynx.
But there was something else, too -- the jaunty tune of circus music announcing the special event of the day. For the first time the annual Barnum Festival held its traditional magic show at the zoo.
"We saw a lynx, llamas, and peacocks, but the tigers were the best," said 9-year-old Kai Cottle. "The magic show was really cool, too," added his friend, Kalen Martin, also 9, as he readjusted his newly acquired plastic clown nose, given out as part of "Barnum's World of Wonder and Magic" in honor of P.T. Barnum's 202nd Birthday Bash.
Eight-year-old Channa Eisenbach, of Litchfield, talks with Joe Barney, of Bridgeport, dressed as P.T. Barnum, during P.T. Barnum's 202th birthday party at Beardsley Zoo Thursday, July 5, 2012.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll / Connecticut Post
FROM: ctpost.com
Ayla Zuraw-Friedland
Friday, July 6, 2012
BRIDGEPORT -- For youngsters in a Middletown summer camp, a visit to the Beardsley Zoo Thursday had the usual attractions -- peacocks and llamas, tigers and a lynx.
But there was something else, too -- the jaunty tune of circus music announcing the special event of the day. For the first time the annual Barnum Festival held its traditional magic show at the zoo.
"We saw a lynx, llamas, and peacocks, but the tigers were the best," said 9-year-old Kai Cottle. "The magic show was really cool, too," added his friend, Kalen Martin, also 9, as he readjusted his newly acquired plastic clown nose, given out as part of "Barnum's World of Wonder and Magic" in honor of P.T. Barnum's 202nd Birthday Bash.
Nine-year-olds Kai Cottle, left, and Kalen Martin, of Middletown, wear clown noses to pay tribute to P.T. Barnum during his 202th birthday party at Beardsley Zoo Thursday, July 5, 2012.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll / Connecticut Post
The show was designed to entertain while telling the story of Barnum's achievements and the impact of his philanthropic endeavors, both locally and internationally. It was held on the Peacock Pavilion stage, one of the prime attractions of the zoo.
Kathy Maher, executive director of the Barnum Museum, said the damage from the 2010 tornado forced museum officials to find a new venue for the event.
"The zoo was a perfect choice," said Gregg Dancho, Beardsley Zoo director. "It includes both the excitement of the circus and the history Barnum had with the land the zoo is on now."
The new location of the event brought in one of the largest crowds to date, Dancho said, an estimated 300 to 400 people.
Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Barnum-magic-show-makes-a-zoo-debut-3686574.php#ixzz1zqQugcZx
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